Basil Pine Nut Pesto Sauce

A great pesto sauce pairs deliciously with so many different foods! Pour it over pasta (or zoodles), use as a base sauce for homemade pizza, add flavor to roasted vegetables, pour over grilled chicken, pork chops or pork tenderloin, use in The Midwest Skinny Pesto Chicken Tacos. The list is endless!

The night I made Pesto, we decided to have a hodgepodge of menu items to go with it! I made Spinach & Wheat Fettuccini Noodles to go with either The Midwest Skinny Marinara Sauce or the Pesto Sauce (or a mixture of both, yum!).

I also made a large salad with shaved Cauliflower, Red Cabbage, Onions, spiced Pecans and Pears. My papa (grill master) grilled the Organic Chicken Tenders, and I sautéed a pan of Portobello Mushrooms.

I added the grilled chicken to my salad, and drizzled the pesto sauce over it. The boys loved mixing together the pesto and marinara sauces over the noodles and adding mushrooms & chicken.

We picked the Basil fresh from our Garden (over the summer! These winter days, you’ll have to make a trip to Kroger…. twist my arm! That’s my favorite place to be).

Griff’s strong muscles helped me “bruise” the basil before adding it to the food processor. Bruising it first helps release more of the flavor!

In trying to find a great pesto sauce recipe, all I could find were ones loaded with cheese and oil, or lacking in flavor. So after much trial and error, I came up with this recipe. I hope you like it! Feel free to add the cheese if your heart desires!